Drop a cap on that GIF. Under 2MB.
2 mb is the sweet spot for most embed cases — Slack autoplay, X ads, Mailchimp, internal docs. One cap, deterministic output.
- 2 mb is the threshold for slack direct autoplay · x ads cap at 3 mb but 2 hits faster · mailchimp recommends under 2 mb for fast email load · most encoders overshoot when targeting tight caps
gifcap. drop your clip in gifcap. set the cap to 2 mb (or 1.95 for safety margin). gifcap binary-searches quality until your output lands under. deterministic.
| axis | online compressors | gifcap |
|---|---|---|
| hits exact 2 mb cap on first try | slider-and-pray | always — binary search |
| quality at 2 mb | dithered, smudged | gifski per-frame palettes |
| workflow | upload-and-wait | drag-drop local |
| uses for 2 mb cap | none documented | slack autoplay, x ads, mailchimp |
| cost | free | free tier; pro $29 lifetime |
How gifcap solves this — in detail
2 MB is one of the most useful target sizes in modern GIF distribution because it sits at multiple platform thresholds simultaneously. Slack's direct-message autoplay threshold is under 2 MB. X's ad performance ceiling is 3 MB but the practical sweet spot is closer to 2 MB. Mailchimp recommends under 2 MB for fast email loading. Hitting 2 MB unlocks all three with one encode.
The hard part is hitting 2 MB without obvious quality degradation. At this cap, the encoder has roughly 200 KB of "spend" per second of 10 fps source — enough for sharp motion but only with per-frame palettes. Single-global-palette encoders (default ffmpeg, most online tools) waste bytes on color overlap; gifski's per-frame approach uses every byte for actual visual information.
The right approach is content-conscious. For UI captures with limited color range, 2 MB easily holds 12–15 seconds at 720p. For colorful animation or fast motion, 2 MB might force 8–10 seconds at 480p. gifcap's preview shows the tradeoffs before you commit, so the encode lands the first time.
2 MB GIF — where this size threshold matters
- Slack direct-message autoplay: under 2 MB
- X organic post: comfortable; 15 MB cap
- X ad: under 3 MB hard cap; 2 MB performs better
- Mailchimp email body: recommended under 2 MB
- Discord (above 256 KB autoplay): click-to-play but uploads fine
- Notion: well under 5 MB free-tier cap
- GitHub README: well under 10 MB drag-drop cap